Here it is, the long-awaited NZ equivalent of my greatest hit singles/albums of all time list I made a while back. Just like last time, I’ll be presenting this as a countdown, meaning that each entry will be more successful than the last as we go down this list. The main difference here of course is that unlike here in Australia, there was only one chart in NZ over the years, meaning that there won’t be multiple entries from singles/albums from the late 80’s/90’s/00’s like there was on my Australian list. Also, I won’t be including entries from the RIANZ charts given how they didn’t track album sales and that they were based on popular votes rather than sales, that and there was only ever a top twenty which means there’s a good chance they were struggling to fill out the top twenty each week during its run.
#5000
I guess the kiwis weren't as big of fans of Coneheads as we Aussies were given how much less popular this theme song to that movie was over there compared to over here, then again RHCP didn't see as much success overall throughout the 90's in NZ as they did here in Australia, so perhaps this was merely a case of their welcome getting worn out over there.
#4999
It turns out the album cycle was a bit different for Real Mccoy depending on where in the world you're from, in NZ and America, this was the third single likely due to it being a cover of the Redbone classic from the early 70's. This is where "Love and devotion" would go had that been a success over there as that was pushed back as the fourth single from the album.
#4998
This was the second of three hits that Ruby Turner scored in NZ from her debut album she released the following year, it wasn't as popular as her earlier entry, however it still did well enough to appear on this list over several international chart toppers.
#4997
It looks like the kiwis were a bit torn on whether they wanted to keep these guys around given how it only makes this list due to its refusal to die on their charts back in the day, I would say this was the final hit the band had except both "Undercover of the night" and "Harlem shuffle" became huge hits over there throughout the 80's, proving these supposed rock dinosaurs still had staying power.
#4996
I don't know how this track even came to be, let alone how it became a massive hit throughout Europe and even a minor hit over in NZ for the literal toddler Jordy, but here we are talking about a dance track where the French minor spouts off about how being a baby is hard and how he deserves respect for it. At least him being a minor gives him a pass for having this attitude unlike most adults who would sing these lyrics.
#4995
In a bit of a bizarre twist, it turns out this was only a sleeper hit for Mary Mary in NZ even though it has all the qualities for being a massive chart topper over there like it almost was over here for the American duo. In fact, I get the feeling this only reached the upper echelons of their charts specifically due to how well it was doing on our charts for the RNB duo.
#4994
This is the other big hit that Shades had over in NZ, this time it's with a song that samples "True" from Spandau ballet that managed to connect with the kiwis in a way it failed to do so for their fellow Americans (apparently that song remains a favourite for samplers to this day.) They would call it quits following the failure of their album in their homeland, meaning this was the last anyone had heard of them.
#4993
While I did mention the last time I talked about these guys that they continued to chart over in NZ as the decade went on, this was their only other hit they had over there likely due to it being a tribute to Smokey Robinson (despite Smokey still being alive as of this writing) that the kiwis likely felt to be touching for the Motown legend.
#4992
I guess the kiwis liked Aqua's final hit better than we Aussies did given how this had little issue appearing on this side of my site as opposed to the Australian side where it struggled as a sleeper hit. Admittedly it probably would've done a lot better had its appeal not been primarily its music video where the band went all out on the budget for the wacky visuals.
#4991
I did mention the last time we looked at Joan Jett that this was a hit over in NZ this year, I guess this was her way of adapting to the hair metal scene as this was originally written for Bon Jovi in mind. It served as a mini comeback for the band over there and in their native America, although the rest of the world wasn't too impressed with this change in direction.
#4990
These guys were on a roll in NZ following the success of "Breathless" from the previous year, indeed they were able to achieve success with this second single from In blue where it was a flop here in Australia despite me hearing this quite a bit on the radio back in the day. They would continue to find moderate success over there with their subsequent follow ups, however their winning streak would end with their next album.
#4989
This was equally as successful in NZ as it was here in Australia for the Purple one this year, I'm guessing because the kiwis in general were more apathetic to his comeback album this serves as the title track for than the rest of the world who were far more ecstatic to see the return of the funk legend.
#4988
Not only was this far less popular in NZ than it was here in Australia this year, but it also appears that it needed to be a success here in order for it to be a success over there given how much later it charted over there compared to over here. I guess the kiwis were a bit put off by the Japanese riff the song uses, that or they didn't appreciate the masturbation metaphors which the band insists were unintentional to this day.
#4987
This is the only appearance that Metallica will be making on this side of my site as it appears the kiwis weren't as impressed with their post sellout material as we Aussies were throughout the decade, in fact it doesn't surprise me in the slightest that their biggest hit over there was a song that's in that perfect middle ground of sounding like something from their classic period whilst coming from their sellout period.
#4986
I have no idea how the kiwis came across this house track from American DJ Lidell Townsell (really what's with that stage name?) however, they did as it became one of the bigger hits of the year over there which is odd as it's usually us Aussies that discover these otherwise obscure dance tracks in order to have them light up our dance floors especially from back then.
#4985
This was the only noticeable success that the Mary Jane girls were able to achieve in their career, they were a Motown group who began their career by providing backup vocals to Rick James and were so well received on his albums that they finally got a chance to appear in the spotlight with this entry. It titillated audiences enough to become a huge hit, however they broke up later in the decade as they failed to score a second hit.
#4984
This was the final hit that Tim Finn was able to achieve in his homeland, considering how this year saw a massive purge of older artists in the mainstream, it's quite impressive he was able to score this hit when he did.
#4983
This was an EDM track that came from the Canadian duo Kon Kan, they managed to score a surprise hit with this entry throughout Europe including in the UK which would explain its success in NZ this year. There's honestly not much to say about this other than this would be the type of song that dominated the Australian airwaves had it been released in the 90's.
#4982
I didn't realise how much the kiwis loved the music from Malcolm Mclaren given how this is the second of three appearances he'll be making on this side of my site, I feel this was only a hit over there this year due to this year being an excellent time for artists who made it big earlier in the decade to score one last hit as a form of a last hurrah with him being no exception to this trend.
#4981
I guess the kiwis weren't as kind to their LGBT scene as we Aussies were to our own as this was the only queer anthem that managed to become a big hit over there this year, granted "Male stripper" was a minor success likely due to how well received it was over here, however it didn't rack up the points to appear on this list like this one and only hit from Paul Lekakis did.
#4980
I guess the kiwis were thoroughly unimpressed with Ashanti back in the day given how her one and only international hit barely managed to make a reappearance on this side of my site despite how popular it was here in Australia and her native America. I would say it was because the kiwis didn't like her presence overall except all of her collaborations with Ja Rule managed to reappear on this side of my site.
#4979
This was one of only two hits that Atlantic Starr was able to score in their career, the other was of course "Always" which was too much of a sleeper hit in NZ to appear on this side of my site. Even though they were in the RNB camp, I'm still a bit surprised they failed to score any success here in Australia if only because it was the type of RNB that wasn't alienating to us Aussies back in the day.
#4978
While Earth wind and fire are well known for being a disco band at heart, they also had their fair share of slow jams such as this second single from their commercial breakthrough in the southern hemisphere I am. I guess we Aussies weren't feeling it here as this was a massive flop for the band over here, however it was more of a success in NZ where the band were on a roll thanks to their earlier entry.
#4977
This was that second single that Extreme had a hit with over in NZ this year from their breakthrough album, it's a better representation of their sound even if it's not as aggressive as their previous material was. It's kind of like a track from Metallica's black album the more I think about it, which I guess explains why fans consider this to be the point of no return for their catalogue.
#4976
This was the final hit that Dave Dobbyn achieved throughout the 80's in his homeland given how he had one of the biggest hits of the decade with his solo debut from two years prior, although this wouldn't be the last his fellow kiwis would hear from him as he would score a surprise comeback six years later and another one ten years after that.
#4975
This will be only one of two entries from Air supply to reappear on this side of my site, suffice to say that the kiwis were even less impressed with their balladry going into the 80's than we Aussies were as we at least gave them a few more hits back in the day before giving up on them. It's lucky that their ballads fitted in well with the yacht rock of the day in America otherwise their popularity would've been close to non-existent.
#4974
Much like here in Australia and throughout the rest of the world, this was the final hit that Wings achieved over in NZ given how the band would call it quits by the end of the decade so that Paul could finally pursue his solo career throughout the 80's.
#4973
We have another appearance from Nesian Mystik on this list, this time it's with the fourth single from their debut album which proved to be a moderate success for the band this year which goes to show how much they were on a roll during the first half of the decade with their brand of RNB and hip hop.
#4972
This will be the only other appearance that Brandy makes on this list, although rest assure that she will be making me more appearances on this side of my site given how much she dominated the NZ charts during the second half of the decade like Monica did. I guess the kiwis were more into hearing her be lovestruck as opposed to heartbroken which explains why "I wanna be down" wasn't as big a hit over there as this was.
#4971
I'm flabbergasted that this wasn't a bigger hit in NZ than it wound up being considering how inescapable their earlier entry was this year over there, I guess the kiwis felt these guys were more suited to being an albums band given how both of their albums from this year saw way more success over there than any of theirs singles again save for their earlier entry on this list.
#4970
I guess I should've mentioned on the Australian side of my site that the soundtrack was well received for the Matrix film given how it was a massive success here upon its initial release, this was also the case in NZ where it proved to be equally as successful due to its ambience as well as the multiple alt rock tracks it contains.
#4969
I guess the kiwis weren't as big of fans of the 00's equivalent of Flashdance as we Aussies were given how much less popular it was over there compared to over here upon its initial release, although at least its theme song from P!nk managed to be a bigger hit over there even if it's more due to airplay as well as her debut album not being as successful over there as it was over here.
#4968
I would've thought this would be one of the biggest albums of the decade given how much of a huge success Savage had with its title track here in Australia, I guess this is another example of the singles eating up the album’s success in NZ as the three big hits it spawned were indeed inescapable over there.
#4967
It appears that the lead single from Kelly Rowland's solo debut also appearing on Nelly's second album from the previous year did no favours for it in NZ as was the case here in Australia, although at least its second single convinced us Aussies and kiwis to finally give the Destiny's child singer a chance early on in the year.
#4966
I guess the kiwis weren't as big of fans of Hairspray as we Aussies were, either that or they liked the film despite the music given how much less popular the soundtrack was over there compared to over here.
#4965
This was also a success in NZ like it was here in Australia, although it didn't last quite as long on their charts as it did on ours which is why it wasn't as successful over there as it was over here. In any case, this is proof that Dire straits was a band that would stand the test of time given how they hadn't released anything new since their final album from seven years prior.
#4964
Given how this was the biggest EDM album of the decade in America, I can only assume that its success on Billboard encouraged the kiwis to check out what all of the fuss was about despite it being the only one of these albums that failed to spawn a single hit over there this decade. At least the likes of Culture Beat and Corona scored a few minor hits over there in exchange for those albums underperforming.
#4963
Well, this is certainly a different side of Incubus compared to what we've already seen, apparently, they decided to make their equivalent of the Beatles magical mystery tour as that's the best way I can describe this album as it incorporates elements of psychedelia in a way that's very reminiscent of the fab four. It was a huge hit in NZ and even a minor success here in Australia this year.
#4962
Well, I suppose Sean Paul was able to make up for not having a single hit in NZ by having his second album be a massive hit over there, although that mainly came when his feature on Beyonce's "Baby boy" managed to become a huge hit worldwide which suggests that he was only a household name over there thanks to her sex jam that appeared on her album (which failed to reappear on this side of my site.)
#4961
This year seemed like the perfect opportunity for audiences to rediscover the works of Harry Belafonte (the guy who brought us "Banana boat") however it appears only the kiwis seized this opportunity as this wasn't a hit anywhere else in the world for the 50's crooner.
#4960
They may have failed to score a genuine hit in NZ like they did throughout the rest of the world, however that didn't prevent this breakthrough album from Europe from becoming a massive success for the band over there as it managed to chart higher there than it did over here for some reason. Again, this is the full extent of the band's popularity regardless of where in the world you're from.
#4959
It appears the kiwis weren't that impressed with this side project from Dire straits frontman Mark Knopfler, it was a success over there seemingly due to his star power, however it didn't make much of an impression with them like it did with us Aussies this year.
#4958
As far as I can tell, the only hit that Joe Cocker has had in NZ is with "Up where we belong" back in early 1983. Heck he now has more greatest hits albums on this side of my site than he does studio albums and likely would have even more had NZ tracked album stats prior to 1975.
#4957
I'm guessing we Aussies weren't big of fans of the Muppet show back in the day given how this was a complete flop over here, this wasn't the case in NZ where it was a huge hit for the TV cast right down to it spawning a huge hit for them over there. Their love for the series wasn't present for the film soundtrack where even we Aussies gave Kermit a hit with "Rainbow connection."
#4956
Even though their previous album saw considerably more success in NZ than it did here in Australia, that wasn't the case for this follow up mainly because it didn't rebound on their charts like it did here in Australia. Admittedly it rebounded here due to them appearing on Countdown in the middle of their world tour.
#4955
Given how they’re two of the most successful albums of all time in NZ, it only makes sense that UB40 would release this two for one deal for their first two Labour of love albums which naturally meant it be a success over there for the band.
#4954
This is the final successful album that Live had in NZ, I guess the kiwis didn't want to keep these guys around in their alternative scene like we Aussies did for our alternative scene. Heck this was way less popular over there than it was over here, suggesting that they were already growing tired of their brand of alternative rock.
#4953
It's tough to say if this third album from John Hanlon was his breakthrough given how there aren't any album charts from NZ preceding this year, what I do know is that its two singles were among the last to become a success on the Listener charts which ensures its success when it was released months after those charts became redundant.
#4952
We have one more album to feature from the Sex pistol's former manager Malcolm McLaren on this site, this time it's arguably his biggest album in NZ and his native UK due to it spawning his biggest hit in both countries in the form of its lead single.
#4951
This is the only album to come from Peking man, a band that's best known nowadays as the launching pad for its frontwoman Margaret Urlich who would go on to have massive success throughout the 90's here in Australia and in her homeland. Indeed, this was a huge success thanks to its second single being a massive hit for the band over there.
#4950
This proved to be a minor success for Jimmy Barnes in NZ this year, I guess the kiwis didn't mind him returning to form for one last time with this album given how popular the first Soul deep album was over there.
#4949
It had been exactly twenty years since George Benson last troubled the charts anywhere in the world with In your eyes, it seems appropriate that he would score one final entry on this side of my site with a greatest hits package given how his previous entry was with another album with this exact title.
#4948
I would've thought that 50 cent kept the momentum going in NZ given how the lead single to his third album managed to go to number one over there, it turns out that didn't help as this was only as successful over there as it was over here for the controversial rapper.
#4947
This was equally as popular in NZ as it was here in Australia for Katy Perry, I guess the kiwis weren't that invested with this precursor to "Last Friday night" as we Aussies were as I doubt its lack of success over there was due to album sales eating up its success like it was over here.
#4946
Given how the digital charts were in full swing this year in NZ, this meant that Ne-yo had little issue with finding success over there with his second single as well as the majority of his catalogue that failed to appear on the Australian side of my site. Whereas he had moderate success overall here in Australia, he was a superstar in NZ due to the kiwis love for his brand of RNB.
#4945
We have one final appearance from Bow Wow on this side of my site, this one being a reunion he had with Omarion who appeared on his first big hit over there which was "Let me hold you" from three years prior. This collaboration proved to be more popular than their first team up likely due to how popular both artists were during this point in their respective careers.
#4944
Well at least all of Fergie's big hits she had from her solo album here in Australia managed to reappear on this side of my site, although the kiwis really didn't seem that interested in having this theme song of hers be that big of a success considering how much less successful it was over there.
#4943
This is the third version of the Rockwell classic I've now featured on this site, the other two being the original and the DJ Bobo version which I feel counts as that heavily relies on the nostalgia of the former track. This is a straight cover of the 80's hip hop track by Dutch group Beatfreakz, naturally it was a hit in NZ due to the unwritten rule of allowing Dutch artists to dominate their charts being in effect this year.
#4942
We have another appearance from Smashproof to look at from their debut album, this time there wasn't any emotional weight behind the track which is perhaps why it wasn't nearly as successful as their earlier entry on this list. At least it gave them one more hit before the decade was out as they were unable to find any success in the 2010's just like the majority of 00's artists.
#4941
You would've thought this would've been an even bigger hit over in NZ than it was here in Australia due to how big his entries were both solo and with the Game from earlier on this list, I suppose the kiwis felt he was a tad overexposed over there this year which is why this was only as successful there as it was over here for 50 Cent.
#4940
File this in the increasingly large category of American artists finding more success in NZ than on Billboard throughout the decade, this time we have Puff Johnson (no relation to Puff daddy) who took the kiwis by storm this year with this ballad that was popular enough to make the official year end list despite its low placement on this list. Heck it even sparked interest here in Australia for the RNB singer.
#4939
We finally have a song from Suzanne Vega on this site that wasn't a remix from a British group, this was the lead single to her second album which did reasonably well in NZ as well as in her native America which is perhaps how it managed to become a hit for her over there. I guess we Aussies passed this up for making the album a success as I do tend to hear this on our oldie’s stations from time to time.
#4938
It really is impressive how little success Phil Collins had in NZ compared to the rest of the world back in the day, this is yet another track of his that appears much lower on this side of my site than it did on the Australian version despite how fondly remembered it remains on oldies stations around the world to this day.
#4937
This is the only notable success from the Fan club, a NZ band with a frontwoman who would go on to become a politician in her native Malaysia following the failure of her solo career once the band went their separate ways. Although they didn't find too much success in their homeland, there was some interest in their work here in Australia that I'm sure would've blossomed into something more with better promotion here.
#4936
It seems weird that Yello would have a different entry on each side of my side given how this was a massive flop here in Australia whilst the same was the case for "Oh yeah" over in NZ, I guess the kiwis passed up their movie theme in favour of this sports track several months after the former was a success down under.
#4935
Cyndi was certainly on a roll this year as all three of her entries that I've featured from her debut album managed to reappear on this side of my site, although this proved to be far less popular over there than it was over here as was everything else she released outside of her debut single from earlier on this list.
#4934
Given how Lulu managed to score a surprise hit with her earlier entry on this list in NZ, it appears the kiwis wanted to make her a household name for the third decade in a row given how she had previous success over there (at least on the Listener charts) with her earlier material. Sadly, her revival period would be short lived as she would fail to score any further success over there after this.
#4933
This was a bit more of a sleeper hit for Black box in NZ, which is an early sign that the kiwis wouldn't be as big a fan of EDM throughout the 90's as we Aussies were given how few entries from the Australian side of my site from the genre will be reappearing on this side of my site. Still, it did linger around long enough to qualify for this list even if most of its success came from the lower half of their charts.
#4932
It appears the kiwis weren't as impressed with this mashup of "Greased lightning," You're the one that I want" and "Summer nights" as we Aussies were given how much less successful it was over there compared to over here, still they did have some love for it as opposed to many other mashups which flopped over there big time.
#4931
Well, this is a surprise, namely because I wasn't expecting to find out that Jon English had a hit in NZ before he had a hit here in Australia back in the day. I'm not even sure how the kiwis came across his cover of the Bob Seger track given how Bob wouldn't find any success until later in the decade even in his native America.
#4930
This was also the biggest hit to come from Revenge in NZ like it was here in Australia, although considering it's the only single from the album to reappear on this side of my site, that's not saying much. For what it's worth, "Missionary man" barely missed the cut on appearing on this side of my site due to being too much of a sleeper hit over there.
#4929
Well at least this managed to be a success on time over in NZ, in fact it had already left the charts over there by the time if finally caught on over here in Australia the following year, which should give you an idea of how slow we Aussies were in allowed these guys to be a household name here. Even with their success early on, there still won't be any other singles from Creed to appear on this site.
#4928
This wasn't as big in NZ as it was here in Australia much like the duo's earlier entry on this list, although at least all three of the Eurythmics entries on the Australian equivalent of this list managed to reappear on here which goes to show that the kiwis were impressed with their output, just not as much as we Aussies were.
#4927
I told you we'd be revisiting this second hit from Juice Newton, didn't I? Here we have the only other hit she had outside of her native America which was actually her biggest hit on Billboard despite how much more well known her earlier entry on this list remains even among her fellow Americans.
#4926
Although it was less popular in NZ than it was here in Australia, this third single from Paul Young managed to be a huge success over there likely due to the winning streak he was on with his earlier entry on this list. Sadly, this would be the last hit single he had over there even though his second album would be a massive success with the kiwis the following year.
#4925
911 was one of many British boy bands that didn't achieve much love during the second round of the boy band wars this decade, however they did score one hit with this cover of the Bee Gees classic, suggesting that they would've had a shot in this round were the competition not so stiff.
#4924
You know that this guy was inescapable in NZ when he managed to score a third hit in a row on their charts with this entry, this comes from his second successful album Are you ready for Freddy (insert FNAF reference here) which sadly didn't translate to him having further success even in NZ throughout the decade.
#4923
It seems fitting that this was the bigger hit from the TMNT soundtrack in NZ and that "Spin that wheel" from Hi tek 3 barely misses the cut on this list, after all it goes to show how both countries unintentionally capture the zeitgeist of the music scene should you combine them together. Both of these tracks capture the feel of the movie rather well, so it's not like there's a competition in that regard.
#4922
Given how he had one of the biggest albums of the decade in NZ (even if it was far from THE biggest album of the decade over there) it makes sense that the lead single to John Farnham's follow-up to Whispering jack would also be a massive success over there even if its low placement on this list was due to most of its success being confided to the lower half of their charts.
#4921
Guns were a Scottish hard rock band who scored their one and only hit worldwide with this entry, although they're perhaps best known nowadays for their cover of "Word up" which featured heavily in the Pamela Anderson flick Barb wire (more specifically, in a montage of her pole dancing.)
#4920
I'm guessing the kiwis were only as big of fans of the Bill Murray flick Scrooged as we Aussies were given how this theme song from Annie Lennox and Al Green appeared to be equally as successful in both countries (taking into account it had stiffer competition over there than it did over here.) This would be the final hit either of them would have in their careers regardless of what they released afterwards.
#4919
It's a bit strange that this only became a hit in NZ after the Christmas season given how many have described this track as one of the greatest Christmas songs of all time, then again it was commonplace to have Christmas tracks chart well into the new year back in the day given how long Band aid and Wham charted into 1985 with their Christmas staples from 1984.
#4918
It turns out there was another reggae song on the Pret a porter soundtrack that was released as a single worldwide, naturally the kiwis were all over this track given their love for reggae from Jamaican artists as Supercat was indeed a reggae artist as was the featured singer Jack Radics who was the guest vocalist on Chaka Demus and Plier's cover of "Twist and shout" from the previous year.
#4917
This was the only song that Lisa Lisa and the Cult Jam (what a stupid band name) managed to achieve outside of their native America, it's a song I've seen be frequently compared to Motown due to its throwback style in the production as well as Lisa's vocals being reminiscent of the likes of Diana Ross and Dionne Warwick. Naturally this caught on with the kiwis, however we Aussies were clearly unimpressed.
#4916
This will be the only entry from Don Henely I'll be featuring on this side of my site as "Boys of summer" failed to become a hit for him in NZ like it did here in Australia later in the decade, I guess the kiwis made this a success for him this year due to their eagerness to see more Eagles material. Said eagerness with die out later in the decade with his next album as well as the failure of Glenn Frey over there.
#4915
The hits just kept on coming for Push Push this year in their homeland, again this didn't chart here in Australia due to us Aussies rejecting the hard rock band for some reason despite how inescapable they were over there.
#4914
Although this wasn't the first hit that R.E.M had over in NZ (that honour goes to "The one I love" which wasn't big enough the previous year to make it on this site) this was the song which made them a household name over there as well as it being the first taste of success they had over here as it was a minor hit in Australia as well. Their popularity would explode in the new decade with their next album.
#4913
Marty Balin was a vocalist for Jefferson Starship back in their heyday (as opposed to the vocalist who gave us their entries on the Australian side of this site) as such it's little surprise he was able to score a huge hit this year in NZ and his native America with this track that sees him making the type of soft rock that MTV would eventually sweep away the following year.
#4912
I guess the kiwis weren't as sympathetic to Meredith Brooks declaring herself as a bitch as we Aussies were given how much less popular this was over there than it was over here, then again, it doesn't escape my notice that Alanis Morissette was far less popular over there, suggesting the kiwis just didn't want to hear abrasive music from these women as much as we Aussies did.
#4911
This was Tiny Tina's only hit in NZ (Tiny Tina was what we Aussies called her during her days on Young talent time) mainly because the kiwis passed up her singles over there in favour of making her second album a huge (albeit sleeper) hit over there. This was also a huge success in the UK for the Australian pop diva which led to her crossing over throughout Europe.
#4910
This is the other big hit that David Bowie had in NZ this year, this one coming from his second film Labyrinth which he stars as the film's antagonist Jareth. The film is more fondly remembered these days despite it also being a critical and commercial disaster back in the day, however it appears this wasn't the case for the theme song which both opens and closes the film.
#4909
Queen Pen was such a force to be reckoned with this year that she managed to score a second hit over in NZ, this time all by herself as she continues the theme of her love life that she had with her earlier entry on this list that only the kiwis were able to appreciate back in the day.
#4908
Well, here's that second hit that the Bloodhound gang were able to score in NZ this year, it's not as much in poor taste as the two songs that were on the Australian side of this site, but it's obvious that's the sort of humour that the kiwis had when making this a success for the band. If you couldn't tell from the title, this song is about how the narrator feels like he's being bullied by everyone and doesn't know why.
#4907
This was a big year for Brandy given how she released her debut album at the start of the year which spawned multiple hits for her in her native America, this was the bigger hit she had in NZ given how both "I wanna be down" and "Baby" were only minor hits over there for her. If there was a rivalry between her and Monica, Monica would've won that rivalry as far as the kiwis were concerned.
#4906
This is the final hit that Alison Moyet managed to achieve anywhere in the world, it's a cover of an obscure track from a band known as Floy Joy who recorded their version of this track the previous year to deafening silence even in their native UK. Naturally Alison owns this song with her rendition which explains why it was such a huge success for her, although her vocals wouldn't give her any more success after this.
#4905
This was a big hit for Enigma in NZ this year, it was also decently successful here in Australia but charted too low to appear on the Australian side of my site. This song was the subject to a lawsuit as the German duo were caught sampling a track without the original composer's permission, it was settled out of court but costed them their reputation in the new age scene.
#4904
It was such a pain to do research on this particular entry given how time has thoroughly erased it from existence, from what I can gather, this was a politically charged track that became popular in NZ this year concerning which side of the political spectrum you were leaning in and that all of them had their ups and downs when it came to society.
#4903
Well here's another new entry from MJ's album Bad, coincidentally it was written by the woman he duetted with from my previous list who originally wrote the song for her own album but was requested by Quincy Jones to donate it to the king of pop due to it being a heartfelt ballad about wanting to make a difference in the world by first looking at oneself in the mirror to find out if they need to change themselves.
#4902
There will only be two entries from John Cougar Mellencamp on the NZ side of my site, although at least they'll be two new entries to this site as he was unable to score any further hits in Australia after the lead single to his biggest album the Lonesome jubilee. This was that album's second single which became his first hit over there as well as the song that finally allowed him to have mainstream success in NZ.
#4901
These guys did achieve a moderate hit in NZ the previous year with "Digging your scene" however this proved to be the big hit for the sophistopop band over there given how the sub-genre managed to explode in popularity this year both there and in the band's native UK where this was also a decent success. Naturally the Blow monkeys didn't achieve any success here in Australia due to the genre's lack of popularity.
